History Professor Robert Stacey started out to be an attorney. What changed
his mind was a good teacher--and an interesting subject.

While earning a bachelor's degree at Williams College in Massachusetts, Stacey
took a class in medieval history from an extraordinary professor. Dropping law
for history, he went to Oxford University
for graduate training. Although Oxford is not known as a center for Jewish
studies, it was there that Stacey found his niche--the study of English Jews in
the Middle Ages.

At first glance, it may seem to be an esoteric subject, but Stacey finds
lessons for modern times in the Middle Ages. It was a period when nationalism
was on the rise and tolerance for differences took a nose-dive. Minority
groups, including Jews and homosexuals, were persecuted and expelled from the
burgeoning nation-states. Even Nazi racial ideology has roots in the 13th
century, he says.

Stacey's reputation for scholarship has earned the history professor the
position of chair of Jewish studies in the Jackson School for
International Studies. He is one of only two non-Jewish academics in the
country to hold a similar position.

His reputation for teaching has earned him a 1997 Distinguished Teaching Award.
"I've had a lot of good teachers to watch over the years," Stacey says of his
success. "As a student I'd observe my instructors and think, `If I get the
chance, I'll do that,' or `I'll never do that.' It was a great way to learn."

He teaches a variety of courses on the Middle Ages, including the large lecture
class History 112, "The Medieval World." Whatever the subject, he is known as a
tough grader. Stacey says he doesn't give grades--he gives students motivation
to rise above what they initially thought they could accomplish.

"It is too easy to sell students short, to give them high marks when they are
not really performing at their best," he says. "Students have a right to find
out how well they can do. I tell them, `You are bright and capable of doing
more than this.' "

Tough grading doesn't drive these students away. One nomination letter
describes Stacey as "the very rare example of one who excels as a teacher at
every level of teaching: entry, upper division and graduate."

Stacey disagrees with those who claim the quality of college students is
declining. "In my large lecture classes, if I don't have first-class teaching
assistants, I can't have a first rate class," Stacey says. "The quality of
graduate student has increased in the eight years I've been here, and I think
the quality of undergraduate writing has improved."--Nedra Floyd Pautler, UW
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